How To Build A "Noisy Cricket" Spudgun
The basic spudgun and big spugun are fun, but what if you require a more compact design? This is your answer. This little spudgun is made of alll 1 1/2 inch pipe and is less then 3 feet long. It can fire about 100 to 200 yards. Those of you who have seen Men In Black will understand the reference to the "Noisy Cricket".
Parts:
- One section (1 1/2 to 2 feet) of 1 1/2 inch ABS pipe
- Two sections (4-5 inches) of 1 1/2 inch ABS pipe
- One ABS 1 1/2 inch T adapter
- One 1 1/2 inch threaded ABS cleanout adapter with plug
- One ABS 1 1/2 inch end cap (not a test cap)
- One push button BBQ igniter (and wires)
- Two 1 inch bolts (any reasonable thickness) and two nuts to match
- Other: ABS glue, duct tape
You may want to use PVC pipe. That is fine. Just remember to get the right type of glue and primer. Personnally, I think that PVC is more brittle and weaker then ABS, plus it takes more time to glue. Because of this, I recommend ABS over PVC.
Construction:
- Step 1:
- Assemble the handle and loading sections. Glue the cleanout adapter to one of the 3-4 inch pieces of pipe. Now glue the end cap to the other section. You may want to remove the cleanout plug while gluing.
- Step 2:
- Assemble the T section. Glue the pieces from step 1 to the T. The handle goes to the "trunk" of the T and the loading section goes to one of the branches.
- Step 3:
- Prepare and attach the barrel. Sharpen one end of the 1 1/2 to 2 foot section of pipe. This will automatically cut the spud to size when it is inserted. Now glue the unsharpened end to the remaining branch of the T.
- Step 4:
- Install the BBQ igniter and electrodes. Drill two holes through the middle of the T slightly smaller then the bolts. Attach the bolts using the nuts and set the gap to about 1/4 inch. Connect a wire to the metal one of the bolt heads. You can solder it, or just wrap it around a few times. Obviousely, soldering provides a better connection. This wire becomes the ground wire. Attach another wire to the other bolt head. This wire is your high voltage lead. Attach the ground wire to the BBQ igniter. The wire usually plugs or gets soldered onto a small metal tab on the side of the igniter. Now, attach the high voltage lead. This almost always connects to a small recessed post on the bottom of the igniter. Tape (or glue...) the igniter to a convienent spot on the handle. You will need to be able to easly push this in order to fire the gun.
- Step 5:
- Watch the glue dry. The glue needs 24 hours to dry completely, so you will have to wait at least that long before you can fire the gun. Do not attempt to shoot the spudgun unless the glue is dry or it could blow up. Trust me, I know from experience.
Your noisy cricket is now complete.
Firing:
For the first firing you will use potato as the projectile and either spray deoderant or hair spray as the propellent. Both work, but the deoderant seems to work better.
1. Open the cleanout plug. Shove a good sized potato down the 1 1/2 inch pipe until it reaches the T. You will need something to ram the spud down the pipe. I use an old tent pole with a rubber tip on it.
2. Squirt a bit of deoderant into the T. This small gun takes very little. Close the cleanout plug quickly.
3. Aim the spudgun away from other people and press the BBQ igniter. If all is well, you should hear the loud bang and feel the recoil.
4. Congratulations. You now have a working noisy cricket.
If you have any suggestions as to how I can improve these plans, don't hesitate to mail me.
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